Defenseman Sparks Alfredsson From Ice

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Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk was the first overall pick Thursday in the NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft. A flipped puck was used to determine who got the first pick and Team Chara won the toss.

 

"I'm very appreciative to be taken first," said Datsyuk. "It was kind of a surprise, actually."

 

The second round saw Team Chara take Boston goaltender Tim Thomas, the reigning Conn Smythe and Vezina winner, while Team Alfredsson took Ottawa forward Jason Spezza.

 

Forward Evgeni Malkin of Pittsburgh, the current points leader, was taken by Chara in the third round while Alfredsson countered with Los Angeles goaltender Jonathan Quick, who leads the NHL with six shutouts.

 

The next five picks for Team Alfredsson were forward Steven Stamkos of Tampa Bay, St. Louis goaltender Brian Elliott, defenseman Shea Weber from Nashville, Vancouver forward Daniel Sedin and New York Rangers forward Dan Girardi.

 

Alfredsson took Phoenix defenseman Keith Yandle, Ottawa forward Milan Michalek, Vancouver forward Henrik Sedin, Pittsburgh forward James Neal and Vancouver defenseman Alexander Edler for his 11-15 picks.

 

The last two selections saw Dallas forward Jamie Benn -- who had an appendectomy on January 15 but will appear in his first All-Star game -- go to Team Chara while forward Logan Couture from San Jose was picked by Alfredsson with the last pick of the draft.

 

"Being the young guy and with these great players, I knew it was a possibility," said Couture.

 

Team Alfredsson's rookies are forwards Sean Couturier and Matt Read of Philadelphia, Carl Hagelin of the Rangers, Nick Johnson of Minnesota and Craig Smith of Nashville and defenseman Justin Faulk from Carolina.

 

This will be the second skills event under the league's current All-Star format of selecting team captains and having the rosters chosen by a fantasy draft, which took place this past Thursday. Boston's Chara is the head of one team, opposed by hometown favorite Daniel Alfredsson of the Ottawa Senators.

 

The Breakaway Challenge is one of the six events on tap for Saturday's battle and has been won by Ovechkin all three times since it debuted at the 2008 event. The phase involves one player mixing skill and creativity on a breakaway attempt on a goaltender. The event differs from a penalty shot in that a skater can start from anywhere in the offensive zone.

 

The three shooters will be made up of two All-Stars and one rookie, while each team will also select one netminder. The winner of the challenge will be selected by fan voting via text messaging and earn his team one point.

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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

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Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.

The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.

MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.

A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.

A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.

Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.

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